Chapter 2: Breath Of Dragon

I'm starting to think the fact that I'm a protagonist to a fanfic maybe isn't as far-fetched as I thought

Getting hit by a truck, get reincarnated, also get the gamer ability, then ALSO meet the protagonist of the original RWBY series, all the span of one day. There's a limit as to how everything played out

You can't just packed many events into a short amount of time frame and expect your players to understand what's happening, doing so will only confuse the player, that's basic 101 in campaign guys

Any decent Game Master would could have done better than this

The System has received your input and thank you for your contribution

Sigh...

I walked over to the still-kneeling Ruby, making sure not to appear threatening to her. It would be troublesome if the little girl got freaked out again

"Hey there" I said, wiping the tears from her eyes "What's your name, little girl?"

"R-Ruby Rose" She hiccuped, still sobbing from fear "W-who are you?"

"My name is (Y/n), (Y/n) (L/n)" I replied, before adding after a moment of thought "Short, sweet, rolls with the tongue, ladies love it"

"Do..do they?"

"No" I deadpanned "It's a terrible name"

This got a chuckle from her, although that sounds more like a hiccup than anything with how much she previously cried

"...What are you doing out here? It's dangerous at night, you know" After a moment of silence, I continued asking, making sure that Ruby had quieted down and not burst out in tears anymore

"I'm gathering medicinal herbs for my mother, she's been sick lately" She lowered her head in sadness "The doctor said she doesn't have much time..."

What? Medicinal Herbs? Oh no, that fact alone should have rang several alarm bells in my head. But the fact that Summer is still alive, albeit barely? Holy shit, just how much changes occur in the universe 

And the fact that Ruby's wearing a red kimono instead of her usual Western outfit points to the conclusion that Remnant's world culture has definitely undergone some serious alteration compare to the original timeline

I was not sure before, but I definitely am now. This isn't the canon RWBY Universe I was born into, but a different one, one that is related to Feudal Japan, or Feudal Mistral if used in this world's term that is

The title is Remnant: Shadows Die Twice for fuck's sake, that is undeniably a hint to the game’s setting

If Ruby isn't in front of me I would have slammed my head into a nearby tree trunks right now. It was so obvious, yet i didn't pay it any notice even when it was literally right in front of my face

"Okay, do you know the direction back to your home?" 

"I do, but it will be difficult to see in the dark" She nervously glanced around, squinting her eyes as hard as she can

"Wait a bit, just let me make something" I turned back to my camp and searched through all the resources I've managed to find, leaving out the unnecessary one and only take with me the rest

My leather pouch, which contained fresh water. My tools that may help later. A bunch of firewood, and a piece of flint and steel that I managed to find in a nearby cave 

I quickly set off to work, while Ruby stood behind, wondering what I'm doing

You have unlocked [Torch]! 

Your Technology has progressed!

The burning torch flickered in my hand as I turned to the girl. I offered her a hand, to which she took in case she get lost

"I've never seen anyone making a torch that fast before" She remarked, gazing at the burning object in my head

"You're still young, there's a lot you haven't seen in this world" My answer seems to have miffed her up enough for her not to question me further after

*Ruby will remember that*

Together, we walked in the silence of the night, broken occasionally by Ruby telling me directions to her house

It is dawn when we arrived at our destination. The village of Patch

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It seems I was right

This is a Japanese town, a goddamn Japanese town. Judging from the architecture here, if compared to the real world, I would be reincarnated somewhere between the Edo and Meiji period in Japan

You know what that means. One doesn't need to be a history nerd to know this is the period where most tales about Samurai, Shinobi, Demons and Monks originated from. 

That means if I'm lucky I can get myself a Katana. Or better yet, I can make one if I have the necessary materials and tools. I think I'll be able to wield one if I learned fast enough

That is, if the Haitorei Edict hasn't been established by the government yet....Heh. 

But that is unlikely, given the Grimm exists in this world. Maybe it'll just be limited to civilians or something

"We're here" Ruby called out to me, pulling me out of my thought

Even her house is different. Instead of a wooden cabin in the forest, we had a straight up dojo situated here

"Before Mom fell ill, we are just a poor family who works as farmers" She explained upon seeing my look "But when she hit the bed, Dad has to find a job as a martial artist. It is only thanks to his talent that he managed to get himself a number of students under him"

"Let's enter then" i said as I knocked on the wooden door

"Wait, you-" it looks like Ruby wanted to say something, but was cut off as the doors slammed open with a bang

"GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" A voice, to which I can only assumed as belonging to Tai, screamed at me from inside, before I found myself at the receiving end of a punch

Stars exploded in my head and my vision is blurred as I slowly spun around, tumbling back, and fell down the stair

In the distance, i could hear Ruby screaming at Tai

You should have given me a warning beforehand if you know this is gonna happen, Ruby

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"I'm terribly sorry" Tai profusely apologized as he bowed to me, his head touching the ground in front of me "Ruby's been gone for a whole night and I just feel really anxious for her at home, please forgive my earlier behavior"

'When you phrase it like that, how could I hold it against you?'

"No, it's okay. Misunderstandings are only harmless incident after all" I replied, before hissing in pain as Ruby touched my cheek where I got hit

"Stay still, (Y/n), I just need to apply this herb on the bruise and you should be fine in no time" She said, holding a small bowl of the substance in her hands 

Medical herbs

Instead of your modern pills and different kinds of medicinal property like vaccine, people here cultivates herbs and ground them to make a paste that could prevent infection and even cure minor wounds on their bodies

 It is primitive, but not to say effective, as the pain on my face had ceased just moments after she put it on

Internally, I wondered if they had invented muskets or even flint-lock guns yet, as gunpowder must have surely been a thing by now

Or Dust, whatever floats your boat that is

"How is mom doing?" Ruby broke the silence between us, and it took me a moment to notice she's directing that question toward Tai, who lowered his face

"Her condition's been getting worse while you were away. She's sleeping in the bedroom now, the doctor said she has at most 3 months before-" he cut himself off at that part

"What? How  is that possible?! And Yang, what about her"

"She's still missing" Tai shook his head "Yang's not gonna return home any time soon, not until she found Raven at least"

Just what kind of family drama did I walked into?

We have the hard-working and diligent protagonist Ruby, birth into a poor family background with a dysfunctional family

Her sick mother Summer, who is stricken with a deadly disease and is on the verge of death, also the one who she loved dearly

Her sister Yang, who's running out there not giving a damn about them and also have a strained relationship with their family

Her first mom Raven, who mysteriously disappeared for unknown reasons in the past, leaving them behind to fend for themselves

This is just like a typical shounen manga character's backstory

But hey, at least Tai wasn't an abusive a-hole like other Male Reader stories portrayed him to be. Not very friendly at first, sure, but he's nice enough to apologize to me

I planted my feet on the ground and slowly stand up, ignoring Ruby's protests, before bowing to him

"Thank you for inviting me to your house. My business here is done, so if you will excuse me..." I moved toward the door, but was stopped by her hands grabbing my clothes 

"Please don't. You are my savior, at least let us repay you by offering you a place to stay" She smiled shyly at me "That's the least we could do, right Dad?"

"Of course, as long as you don't lay your hands on my daughter that is"

"DAD!"

"Jeez, calm down. (Y/n)'s free to stay as long as he likes" Tai peered at me while scratching his head "But he has to agree to it first" 

I looked between the pair of father and daughter with disbelieving looks. Both of them seems  sincere enough in their request for it not to be a formality "Please excuse me inconveniencing you then"

"No, not at all. We welcome anyone who wants to stay here" He grinned  "There's a backroom in the Dojo for you, it used to be Yang's old room but she left it there and hasn't returned since"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, ask away"

"You say this is a Dojo, what kind of art do you teach here?"

"Ah, I didn't think you would ask that" Tai scratched his chin in thought "But to answer your question, it's my self-developed martial art style called Dragon Breath. Unfortunately since it's a rather new style, not many people go here to learn it"

My eyes shined

"Can I become your student then?"

"Wa-What?" This clearly caught him off-guard as he pointed at himself "You want to become my student, for real?"

"Yes, it sounds interesting enough" I bowed to him "I want to train myself, to become stronger, and to surpass others, I want to become your disciple. Will you accept me?"

I figured the one most convenient method to raise my stat would be to fight and earn EXP. The only way to do that would be to train my body first, so I can challenge stronger foes than me. 

Since I can't get myself a weapon right now, it would be better to learn something that can defend me against enemies unarmed, such as martial arts for example

As I am standing at a dojo, I figured this would be the perfect chance 

There was silence in the room, in which Taiyang looked at me sharply. I think he's searching for something. After a while he nodded

"Training starts tomorrow, you better rest now" 

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"Agh!" The girl choked as her face hit the dirt.

Rolling to the side, she narrowly avoided the crimson Odachi which clearly aims for her head and leaped up, only to be punched in the face and getting knocked down again 

She tried to get up again,  but a boot stamping on her neck stopped her from doing that, perfectly keeping her in place. Struggling, she can only turn her face sideway to look at the one who just clearly wiped the floor with her

"I hope the soil here suits your taste, my daughter" A voice reached her ear, making her grinded her teeth in both rage and frustration

"Don't call me your daughter, you bitch!" Yang Xiao Long spat, only to be kicked in the stomach. She rolled several time from the impact, clutching her gut in pain 

Yang looked up again through her teary vision, this time with much more clarity as she isn't lying face down on the earth this time

Her mother, raven, is looking at her with that same cold gaze again. Just as she usually does after every beat down she received

After the third time, Yang have come to know not to beg for mercy from the woman who values strength above everything else

Perhaps they have the same vision after all. The strong rules over the weak however they like. Without power in this world, you are nothing more than prey for others

"You're looking at me with that gaze again" Her mother smiled coldly "If it wasn't for you who came to my door begging for strength, I won't have to bother myself with you in the first place"

Yang didn't respond, instead spitting on the ground and stood up "Let's start again"